Fifa Women's World Cup Canada 2015 preview: All you need to know

The seventh Fifa Women's World Cup takes place in Canada from 6 June to 5 July. It will see 24 nations duke it out for the right to be named world champions.

Teams

Much like the men's tournament, the women's event sees teams drawn from all six continental footballing associations. This is the first time 24 spots have been available in the tournament, and 135 sides competed for a chance to play in the finals.

As hosts, Canada automatically qualified. The remaining 23 berths were filled by:

• The top five teams from the Women's Asian Cup.
• The seven group winners and single play-off winner from Europe.
• The top two nations from the Copa America Femenina.
• The top three nations from the African Women's Championship.
• The top three nations from the CONCACAF Women's Championship.
• The OFC Women's Nations Cup winner.
• The CONMEBOL-CONCACAF play-off winner

Groups and format

The 24 teams have been drawn into six groups. The top two from each group after all matches are played are guaranteed qualification for the knock-out round.

They will be joined by the four teams finishing third with the best group record. In the event of a tie, goal difference then number of goals scored will decide who progresses.

The six teams who finish bottom of their respective groups will be eliminated from the competition.

The remaining 16 teams will go into the first knockout round, followed by the quarter-final and semi-final before the final on 5 July in Vancouver.

Group A: Canada, China, New Zealand, Netherlands

Group B: Germany, Ivory Coast, Norway, Thailand

Group C: Japan, Switzerland, Cameroon, Ecuador

Group D: United States, Australia, Sweden, Nigeria

Group E: Brazil, South Korea, Spain, Costa Rica

Group F: France, England, Colombia, Mexico

Venues

Just six stadiums will be used for the tournament, with one venue assigned to each group. The Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton will host Group A as well as the second semi-final and third-place play-off. Group B matches will be played Lansdowne Stadium in Ottawa, BC Place will play host to Group C and the final, the Winnipeg Stadium will host Group D, the Olympic Stadium in Montreal will host matches from Group E and the first semi-final while the Moncton Stadium will host Group F, which includes England.

Artificial pitch and goal-line technology

After the dropping of legal action against the Canadian Soccer Association and Fifa, the Women's World Cup will become the first major international tournament to be played on artificial surfaces.

Eight-four players from 13 nations campaigned for the decision to be overturned, claiming they should be allowed to play on the same pitches as men and that there was an increased risk of injury. However the test will now go ahead.

After being debuted at the men's World Cup last summer, goal-line technology will be implemented for the first time at a women's World Cup, with the UK-based system Hawk-Eye set to be used for each of the 52 matches in Canada.